


Through The Years (Kidge Winter 2017)

by WinglessMaiden



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Eventual Romance, F/M, Family Fluff, Fluff, Happy Holiday, Kidge - Freeform, Minor Hunk/Shay (Voltron), Romance, kidge winter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-29
Updated: 2018-01-02
Packaged: 2019-02-23 00:59:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,586
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13179000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WinglessMaiden/pseuds/WinglessMaiden
Summary: Kidge Winter Weekend:12/29: Wish Upon A Star12/30: Dancing In The Snow12/31: Midnight KissPidge and Keith goes through life not knowing that fate had plans for them since they first met. These are snippets of their lives where fate decided to meddle and gear them towards the direction truly meant for them. It starts at a young age and it blossoms to something more as time goes by.





	1. Wish Upon A Star

**Author's Note:**

> Taking part in a Tumblr Prompt Week and hoping I actually comply with it. >_< This is for the Kidge Winter Event 2017. I decided to connect the three prompts in some form. Hope you guys enjoy!

It was starting to get dark and air become chilly. Two kids, one only 6 and the other only 8, sat huddled next to each other at the bottom of a ditch. The ditch was too deep and too slippery for the two young ones to climb out of. They have been stuck at the bottom for only ten minutes but for the young ones, it felt like an hour. Their hands and clothes were dirty from trying to climb up but after a few tries, they decided it was best to just wait.

The boy with dark hair noticed that his shorter companion with long brown hair was starting to sniffle."Hey, what's wrong? I told you we will be fine. My big brother will find us. He always finds me."

"It's starting to get dark. What if big foot finds us? My brother said they come out night to look for food. What if it thinks we're food?"

The small boy started to get worried now. He didn't think of that before now. "We are in a hole. It won't look for food down here. I read somewhere that they are very stinky. We should be able to smell one if it gets close enough."

The little girl looked at the boy next to her with wonder, "Really? Mattie never told me that. What do we do when we smell one?"

The boy thought for a moment, "We will just keep really quiet."

"I hope Mattie finds us soon."

"If your brother doesn't, Shiro will. I know he will."

The two young kids waited in silence. As the sun set, the sky turned dark and the stars started to show. Fortunately the moon was out and skies were clear. The moon and stars kept the area where the two children were waiting well lit. A shooting star whizzed through the night sky and it caught the boy's attention.

"A shooting star!"

The little girl looked up, "Where? Where?"

Right as the girl looked up, a meteor shower had started. One shooting star after another came to view. The two children looked up in awe and excitement.

"Quick! Make a ton of wishes!" The little girl nudged at the boy.

"Why?" Confusion evident in the little boys voice.

"My mom said if you make a wish upon a star, it will come true. She said that it had to be a shooting star and you have to make the wish before the star disappears."

"Since there are a lot of them we can make more than one?"

"I think so. I already know what to wish for! I wish for Mattie and your Shiro to find us soon." The little was staring intently at the sky and holding her hands together. "I also wish for a puppy!" She noticed her companion hadn't made a wish yet so she grabbed his hands and put them together. "Now make a wish."

The little boy was still confused but he did what he was told and looked up at the sky. "Since she already wished for Shiro to find us soon... I wish Shiro will stay my big brother forever."

The girl giggled. "You don't need to wish for that. If he's your big brother, he's stuck with you no matter what."

The boy smiled, "Had to make the wish just in case. Well okay then. I wish to go to space someday."

"Me too! I wish to see the stars up close in space and maybe aliens!"

This time the boy laughed, "Of course if we are in space we will see aliens."

"Aww, there are less stars now. What else to wish for?" The girl scrunched up her face trying to think.

"I wish I will always have a family."

The girl looked at the boy in confusion. Why would someone have to wish for that? She knew she will always have a family so she didn't think to wish that. "How about friends?"

The boy shook his head. "I don't have any friends. Just Shiro."

"I don't either because I have Mattie but my mom said having a best friend is a good thing."

"Why is that?"

"I don't know but mommy said that Dad is her best friend and they are happy and love each other."

The boy stared at the girl in wonder. He didn't know his first mom and dad so he's not sure if they were best friends. Shiro's mom and dad seem to get along very well. He sees them laugh and joke with each other a lot. "I guess I can wish for a friend."

The girl shook her head. "I'll be your friend so you don't have to wish for that."

The boy looked surprised, "You want to be my friend?"

The girl gave him her biggest grin that you can see the missing baby tooth. "Yeah! You were looking for Mothman and Bigfoot like me. Nobody else believed me that they exist except Mattie and you." The girl turned to look back up at sky. "I wish that we will be best friends forever like mom and dad."

If his new friend's mom and dad were happy, he wouldn't mind being happy too with his new friend. "Okay. I also wish that we will be happy together forever."

With that last wish, the last falling star disappered from sight. The girl yawned and the boy seeing her yawn, he did too soon after.

"Since I wished Mattie and your brother to come soon on a shooting star, they should be here any second." The girl yawned again. "But I wanna take a nap first."

"Yeah, they'll be here soon. I'll stay up while you nap."

"Okie dokie."

No more than five minutes later, both children fell asleep. Both were snuggled together with the boy's arm protectively around the little girl. After several more minutes, voices could be heard coming closer to the ditch.

 

"Pidge! Pidge! Where are you Pidge?"

"Keith! Hey buddy, are you here? Keith!"

"Katie! Katie! Daddy is here! Can you hear me Katie?"

Through the trees, an older man and two very young boys came across each other. All three of them had flashlights outs. One of the young boys wearing glasses recognized the older man.

"Dad! Have you seen Pidge yet?"

"No Matt, I haven't seen Katie yet."

"Excuse me..." The other boy with short black hair interupted, "Have you two happen to see a boy with dark hair? My name is Shiro and I'm looking for my younger brother. He's only 8 and his name is Keith."

"No, I'm sorry young man. Have you seen a little girl wandering around?" The older man watched as the boy named Shiro shook his head, looking dejected. The man's face morphed into worry, "Two children missing? I'm going to have to call the Park Ranger at this point."

"I found her! And there's a boy next to her!" The boy named Matt waved over the others toward a ditch.

Shiro ran to look over the ditch and found his brother. Relief flooded through him. "Keith!"

The older man sighed in relief. It's no wonder the two children did not return to where they were supposed to. Both of them fallen into a ditch that neither could climb out of.  Fortunately, he was tall enough to climb in and get them out. "You two boys wait up here. I'm going to get them and hand each of them to you two." The man jumped into the ditch and nudged the two children sleeping soundly, holding onto each other for warmth. "Katie... Wake up sweetie. Daddy is here and time to go home."

Instead of waking, Katie snuggled closer to her friend. The man chuckled and wished he had a camera to show his wife how cute and adorable their little girl is with her new friend. He decided to try to wake up the boy first instead. "Keith... wake up kiddo. My name is Sam and I have your brother Shiro here with me."

At the sound of the name Shiro, Keith fluttered his eyes open and looked around briefly consfused. He saw a stranger with kind eyes crouched next to him. Looking around some more, he saw his brother on top of the ditch. "You found me."

Shiro smiled, all the worry leaving his face, "Yeah buddy, I found you. Now let's get you out of there."

"Okay." Keith looked to the boy next to his brother. "Are you Mattie?"

Matt chuckled, "Yeah I'm Mattie."

Keith yawned, "That's good, our wishes came true."

Sam picked up the little boy and handed him to Shiro. Keith immediately latched unto Shiro and laid his head down on his shoulder, ready to fall asleep again. Sam picked up his daughter and handed her sleeping form to his son. Matt took hold of her and cradled her in his arms.

When Sam climbed out of the hole, Shiro turned to him. "Thank you sir for helping me getting Keith out of the ditch."

"No problem. Where are your parents? You have somebody waiting for you?"

"Yes sir. My mom is waiting for me by the picnic tables in the north entrance."

"We'll walk with you. My wife is there also. Here Matt, let me carry Katie."

Matt shook his head, "It's okay Dad. I got her, she is pretty small." Katie had shifted in his arms.

The moving motion Katie felt being in Matt's arms made her open her eyes. "Mattie?"

"Hey Pidge. You sure had an adventure today."

"I didn't find Mothman."

Matt, Sam, and even Shiro laughed at her statement.

Sam patted his daughter's head, "No you didn't sweetheart. But next time you go looking for cryptids, please let daddy know."

"It's okay. My bestfriend didn't find it either. Did his Shiro come for him? Where is he? You didn't leave him, right!?" Her last question had her sitting up in alarm in her brother's arms.

Shiro smiled, "I'm Shiro and I have him right here."

Katie visibly relaxed when she saw her friend sleeping peacefully in his brother's arms. "He knew you'd come." Katie yawned, "We made tons of wishes together."

This had Shiro curious, "Wishes?"

Katie had wrapped her arms and legs around Matt in a more comfortable position and yawned again. "We're going to space... and meet aliens... and..." She had drifted off to sleep.

Matt jiggled his sister in his arms to check if she's truly asleep, "And what else?"

Keith must have woken up enough when Katie started talking becuase it was him who replied. In a half-asleep voice, he groggily answered Matt's question. " We wished we will be happy together forever." He promptly went back to sleep, slight snoring could be heard few seconds later.

The other three just smiled although it was a somber one. Sam ruffled Keith's hair with a sad expression, "I'm sure you and Katie will make the best of friends. Unfortunately we don't live in Florida."

Shiro looked up at Sam. "We don't either. My family was just visiting here for vacation. We live in Texas."

Matt perked up, "Hey Dad, isn't that where we are moving to because of you're work?"

Sam smiled, "You know what, maybe these two's wishes might just come true."

 

 

 

 


	2. Dancing In The Snow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's their last year in high-school and they are encouraged (more like forced) to take part in every Senior Year Festivity. Keith doesn't care for all the frivolity but maybe this time Pidge can change his mind.

* * *

Keith arrived late for a reason. He figured if he came late to this stupid dance and then left early, Shiro couldn't claim that he didn't attend the Winter Formal. If he couldn't claim that, Keith wouldn't have to hear another speech about the importance in taking part of every Senior event and activity. How it would expand his social skills and would be an advantage for him if ever the colleges he applied for looked into his extracurricular activities. Keith still doesn't understand how attending a dance will impact his college applications. He went straight for the punch bowl. Sniffed it, making sure it wasn't spiked, and decided to pour himself a drink. He figured he might as well stand here and brood the whole time. He can't brood at the entrance forever especially when the chaperones and teachers started to give him weird looks.

"There you are Mullet-head! Wondered if you were ever going to come." A tall, lanky man came bumbling over to Keith. "Even with the mullet, you clean up pretty nice."

"Whatever Lance, I still look better than you." Keith smirked at his friend.

Lance put a hand over his chest, to dramatically show he was offended by Keith's statement. Keith just rolled his eyes at him and Lance stuck his tongue out in response. "I am surprised you didn't leave after the first five minutes of stepping in here even though Hunk thought otherwise. Figured you'd be able to claim you came and Shiro couldn't do anything about it."

Keith frowned, "That was the original plan but apparently Shiro beat me to it. He petitioned for Allura's help for hijacking my motorcycle so I couldn't leave the dance till towards the end of the night."

"Hahaha," Lance laughed loud enough that a few other students started looking their way. "How did you know he got Allura to help him?"

Keith showed Lance his phone showing a text from Shiro with a picture attachment. It showed Allura holding up the bike with Shiro and loading it into a back of a truck. "Apparently he also had Matt help him since that's Matt's truck they were using. Of course it would be Matt who took the picture." 

Lance started laughing again, "You got to hand it to Shiro for thinking ahead. Man, Allura is some super strong chick if it only took her and Shiro to pick up your bike."

 "Well there goes my escape plan. Unless..." Keith gave Lance a side-long glance. "You or Hunk could drive me home?"

"No way Jose. I am having the time of my life with all the ladies. Come on, Hunk is on the other side of the dance floor." Lance started dragging Keith through the crowd of teens talking and dancing until they reached the other side of the dance floor. "Hey Hunkster! Look who I found."

"Keith!" Hunk went up to Keith giving him a bear hug. "I knew you would come! Didn't I tell you Shay?"

A girl with olive-skin wearing a yellow dress matching Hunk's suit giggled, "Yes you did. You look good Keith."

"Thanks, you do too. You and Hunk look good together."  Keith smiled at the couple. The two had only started dating the summer before senior year and they've been inseparable since then.

Both Hunk and Shay blushed. Lance started snickering, "They couldn't keep their hands off each other since they came."

"That's not true, we have just been dancing a lot." Hunk waived Lance's teasing off and turned his attention back to Keith. "Lance keep saying you'd just come then leave again but here you are."

Keith laughed, "Actually, that was the original plan but I underestimated Shiro so my escape route was taken away."

Lance jabbed at Hunk, "See, I was right."

Hunk shook head, "I would think you would come since Pidge came."

This caught Keith's attention, "What? She's here? I thought she wasn't going to come."

Shay nodded, "Hunk and I thought you knew and would end up coming because she decided to come. She didn't tell you?"

"No, she didn't tell me. Last time we talked about the dance, Pidge said she wasn't thinking of coming." For some reason, Keith didn't like not knowing that Pidge decided to show up to the dance and not tell him. It gave him a funny feeling, something close to indigestion. 

"If you bothered to check your phone, you would have gotten the message I was coming and would have found out what Shiro was planning since Matt help him come up with the plan."

Keith whirled around at the sound of Pidge's voice. He was about to make a retort when his voice got stuck at the back of his throat as his eyes caught sight of Pidge. Her hair still short but instead its usual waviness, her hair was straightened with a slight curl at the tips. Part of her hair clipped back with a red jeweled rose barrette. She was wearing a green chiffon dress with red roses embroidered at the end reaching just above her ankles. At first it seemed she was wearing a sleeveless dress but when the dance lights passed by, Keith could see the long, translucent light green sleeves. The dress was modest but beautiful. No, Keith thought, it wasn't the dress. Pidge looked beautiful.

Pidge waved her hand in front of Keith's face, "Earth to Keith. Did you lose your phone or something?"

Keith snapped out of his daze, feeling his face start to warm, and fished out his phone. There was an unopened text from Pidge he failed to notice. In her text read exactly what she just told him. "I wasn't paying attention to my phone until I was about to report my bike getting stolen only to receive a call from Shiro to check the text he sent me. I must have overlooked it."

Pidge rolled her eyes at Keith. "I told you that Shiro has been talking with my brother about finding ways to make sure you take part in Senior Year activities. I warned you that Matt will end up convincing Shiro on doing something drastic; see what happened to your precious bike. Since you ditched Homecoming, Shiro wanted to make sure you didn't miss anything else."

"Hey! I wasn't the only one who ditched Homecoming. You ditched it with me!" That was a memorable night because that was the night the two of them decided to follow up on lead regarding the Wampus Cat. They drove 3 hours straight to Texas Hill Country came back home late the next day covered in dust. They didn't find it but they did come across an injured baby bobcat that they ended nursing for the night until they got Wildlife Services to help the animal. 

Pidge smirked, "I don't have a brother who cares what I do during Senior year as long as I don't burn the school down when I execute my senior year prank."

"Have you decided what to do yet?" Hunk asked.

"No not yet. I thought about setting off all the fire alarms and force the sprinklers on but that's too cliche. I could hack the Garrison servers and play a video clip in a loop for a little bit during finals. Maybe I'll just hack the PA system instead or the screen savers."

"Man, whatever Pidge will end up doing, it will be epic." Lance was always for a good prank but he rather not be in the receiving end when it involves Pidge. That girl is brutal with pranks and only Matt and Keith can go toe to toe with her. "So Pidge, are you going to dance some more?"

Pidge's face soured. "I have already stepped on your toes twice trying to keep up with you on the dance floor. No thank you."

Both Lance and Hunk laughed. Keith didn't make a sound and instead frowned as the funny feeling came back as he pictured Pidge and Lance dancing together. He probably should stop eating so much spicy food if this indigestion keeps coming up at random times. Shay noticed the frown on Keith's face and nudged Hunk. Hunk looked at Shay and she nodded her head towards Keith.  Hunk's eyes widened as if he figured something out. 

"Well, you guys figure out who will dance with who but I hear another line dance coming up for me and Shay to join." Hunk extended out his arm and Shay hooked her arm with his and two went to join the other people on the dance floor. 

"It's the Cha-Cha slide! I'm so joining." Lance looked at the other two, "So are you two just going to stand here like wallflowers or actually dance?"

"I don't dance, especially line dances." Keith was already backing away from Lance just in case he decided to drag him through the dance floor again.

Lance looked at Pidge then at Keith then back at Pidge again but she just smiled at him. "Hmmm... okay, you two's loss." Lance went towards the dance floor and waved at the nearby girls. They started giggling and joined Lance on the dance floor near Hunk and Shay.

Keith looked down at Pidge, "You can dance if you want. You don't have to stay here with me."

Pidge shook her head, "I'm actually feeling a little stuffy. There's an outside garden attached to this venue. Join me?"

"Sure." Keith started following Pidge as she walked away from the dance floor only to stop midway. "Wait a minute, I thought we only have access to the lobby, the dance hall, and the adjoining conference room where all the food and drink is at?"

Pidge just gave him her famous Cheshire grin and headed towards the double doors leading to the back garden. She motioned for Keith to keep watch for hotel staff, teachers, and chaperones. While Keith kept a lookout, he noticed Pidge take off her rose pin from her hair and started picking on the lock. Part of her hair held by the pin slowly cascaded down her face and Keith couldn't help but be mesmerized by it. 

"Got it! Come on, before someone notices." Pidge led Keith into the garden and they were met with a light-filled scenery. Every bush and tree was covered with Christmas light and shined brightly in the night. "Wow, this looks great."

"Yeah it looks nice. You can even still hear the music from inside out here." Keith felt the cold air but he was wearing a suit so it didn't really bother him. He turned to look at his friend as she moved around the small garden looking at the lights. "What made you change your mind? I mean, I thought you weren't going to come."

Pidge shrugged her shoulders and turned to look away from him so Keith couldn't see her face turn pink. She wasn't sure if she wanted to tell him the real reason or just make up one. She figures they've become really close friends, he wound't make fun of her. "I originally didn't want to come cause I couldn't find a dress to wear. I haven't worn really nice dresses in so long that I didn't know what look good on me anymore."

Keith just looked at her confused. He did wonder what was her reason for not wanting to go to dances but he never thought it was because she was feeling insecure about herself. He didn't like not knowing before hand that this how she felt because he wouldn't have said something sooner. Although the first time they met during freshman year, she was dressed like a boy. It took a while for him to figure out she was a girl till the teacher had called out her name during role call. Their first meeting wasn't the most pleasant and it made him cringe thinking about how insensitive he was to her back then. He wasn't in a good place back them. That was the year Shiro had almost died but fortunately his life was spared. It was tough though helping Shiro out with his prosthesis but they got through it somehow. After that first semester freshman year, they found out they liked a lot of the same things and their older brothers were the best of friends. From there, as time went on, they became just as close as their brothers are. With that in mind, he doesn't like knowing he wasn't there to comfort Pidge regarding her insecurities.

Pidge had waited a bit before continuing to explain her reason for coming. "I actually always wanted to go to a dance but as I said, I didn't have something decent to wear for a dance. My mom surprised me this morning by getting this dress for me. She said she saw it in display at the outlet mall while Christmas shopping and knew she had to get it for me. So when I tried it on, it was perfect."

"It is perfect." Keith didn't realize he said it out loud but when he saw the big smile on Pidge's face when she turned to look at him, he was glad he did say it. Though it did make him wonder why she didn't say anything him about wanting to go to the school dances. From what he remembers, every time there is a school dance, he and Pidge would go do something else. "You could have told me before that you wanted to school dances. Just because I'm not fond of it shouldn't be a reason for you not to go."

Pidge fiddled with her hands. "I didn't want to go by myself. If I went with Hunk and Shay, I don't want to be a third wheel to them. I'd just be intruding. I guess I could have gone with Lance..."

"I would have gone with you." Keith immediately interrupted Pidge. Sure he didn't like dances but the thought of Pidge going with some other guys (even if it is their friend Lance) just didn't sit well with him.

"Really? I didn't think you would go and even if you did, you said you don't like dancing."

Keith sighed, "I might have said that but actually, it's only cause I can only dance to certain songs."

Pidge pursed her lips at him, "And these certain songs would be?"

Keith ruffled his hair, trying to hide his embarrassment. As timing would have it, one of the songs he actually know how to dance to came on. "I'll show you this dance."

"You know how to do the Texas Two-Step?" Pidge looked up at Keith in awe. "I've lived here in Texas since middle school and I still don't know how to do that dance."

Keith just shrugged and motioned Pidge to stand in front of him. "Just follow my lead. If you get lost, I'll slow it down so you can get the steps."  He moved Pidge's left arm to lay on his right arm and hold on to his bicep and he held her right hand with his left. Slowly he started leading her and it only took a couple tries before she picked up on the steps. In no time, the two were dancing around the garden and having the time of their lives. Pidge's dress flowed with her as she kept up with Keith. She loved it when Keith spun her away from him then quickly spin her back towards him. Pidge couldn't stop giggling, happy that she's finally able to enjoy dancing and Keith couldn't stop smiling. They kept dancing until the end of song, slightly out of breath by the time they stopped. They stood there, still in each other's arms, as they tried to catch their breath. 

Keith couldn't help but stare at Pidge's flushed face and twinkling eyes. If he knew it would make her this happy to go to a dance, screw how he felt about dances. He would have asked her to a dance long time ago. Holding her in his arms like this just felt right to him. 

"You know, looking at all of these Christmas lights reminded me of an old dream I had when I was very little." Pidge interrupted Keith's thoughts. "It was such a nice dream."

Keith heard the music inside change into something slower. As Pidge continued to talk, he decided to continue to dance with her in rhythm with music. "What was the dream?"

"I was stuck somewhere dark with someone. We were both little kids. Then we looked up in the sky and it was filled with falling stars. It was such a beautiful meteor shower. It didn't even feel like a dream, more like a memory."

Keith listened intently as they continued to sway around the garden. He vaguely recalled having a similar dream when he was young. It was a nice dream but that's the problem, it was just a dream.

Pidge unknowingly leaned her head against Keith's chest as she continued to follow his lead. She was busy recalling her story and her voice took a dreamy tone, "We made a bunch of wishes and I can't remember everything we wished for except for one."

Keith scrunched his face. What she was saying sounded so similar to the dreams he used to have when he was young. They couldn't have had the same dream though. He was about to ask what was the wish when he felt Pidge shiver in his arms. He immediately took off his suit jacket and wrapped it around her. "Here, wear this. It's gotten a lot colder all of a sudden." 

"Thank you." As Pidge put on Keith's jacket she noticed little white flurries melt as it touched the cloth of the jacket. "It's starting to snow!"

The excitement from Pidge's voice hooked Keith's attention. He looked up and noticed it did start snowing. It wasn't much but still pretty to look at, especially since snow is so rare to come to Texas. 

"I love snow! This isn't as much as I'm used to but this is still so cool." Pidge started twirling around, trying to catch the flurries as it fell. 

Watching Pidge jump around trying to play with the little bit of snow falling from the sky was amusing to Keith.  "It's starting to get colder more so than earlier. It might actually start snowing more. Did you want to go back inside to warm up?" 

"No I am fine for now but if you're cold since you lent me your jacket we can go back inside."

Keith shook his head, letting her know he was warm enough as he pointed to the long sleeves he was wearing. Honestly, since having Pidge so close to him was making him warm enough. He found that he really liked holding Pidge in his arms. Never noticed before how right it felt to Keith to have her close to him. 

Another slow music came on and it was one of Pidge's favorite song.  "Hey Keith..." She wanted to ask him something. Pidge felt a little shy about it but at the same time, she started internally berating herself for feeling shy all of a sudden though. It shouldn't be a problem asking Keith what she wanted. After all, he didn't laugh at her when she told him the true reason she didn't come to the dances before. "Can you dance with me some more?" 

Keith smiled at her as he jumped at the chance to hold her close again. He took her hand in his own and twirled her then placed his other hand on her waist. "I would dance with you anytime."  

Hearing that made Pidge blush so she just tried to look away hoping Keith didn't see it. She's been trying to hide her crush from her best friend for some time now. Mainly cause she didn't want to lose whatever they had now. Dancing in the snow with him, knowing that he once said before he didn't like dances, made her feel special. 

As Keith continued to lead Pidge in their dance, it made him think back on what Pidge was telling him about her dream. It was so similar to a dream he frequently had when he was young. He was adopted by Shiro's family when he turned 8 years old and the only person he was close to was Shiro. Having a dream about another friend wishing to be happy together forever under a meteor shower was something he held onto for years. Being older now, he can't remember his friend's face in the dream but he knew it was a girl because of the purple bow in her long hair and the matching dress. Looking down at Pidge in his arms, part of him wished she was the little girl he became friends in his dream. If they were friends sooner, maybe they wouldn't have had such a rocky first meeting freshman year. But as the years went by and with everything they have gone through together, they became the closest of friends.

Keith twirled Pidge again. His heart skipped a beat hearing her laughter.  When she moved closer to him and flashed a big bright smile, made him realize something. It wasn't indigestion he was feeling earlier when he thought Pidge came to the dance without telling him or when he thought about Lance and Pidge dancing together. He wanted to be with Pidge and didn't like knowing someone else could be with her. He is the happiest with Pidge and he wanted to be the there for her. If there was something he could do to make her happy, he would do it. Watching her smile and laugh as she danced with him the garden with Christmas lights and the little bit of snow falling around them, he wanted to be with her like this forever. 

 "Somebody left the garden doors unlocked." A hotel staff personnel opened the doors and looked outside at the garden. He quickly looked around to make sure no one was outside when the flurries caught his attention. "Hey it's snowing! Let me tell the others." He ran back inside and locked the garden doors.

Both Keith and Pidge had hid behind a tall bush to avoid being caught when they heard the doors open. They came out when the hotel person left. "Oh shoot, I won't be able to open the door from out here." Pidge frowned.

"What do we do now?" 

Pidge looked around and noticed there was a slatted wood fence in one end of the garden against the brick wall. She tugged Keith towards it and she started climbing the fence until she reached the top. 

"What are you doing?" Keith was surprised Pidge managed to climb up the fence and so quickly wearing her dress. 

Pidge smirked down at Keith from the top of the wall, "It wouldn't be a dance if we didn't actually end up ditching part of it."

 Keith laughed and climbed the wall after her. When he reached the top, sitting next to Pidge, "Wait, I don't have my motorcycle." 

Pidge rolled her eyes, "If you actually saw my text earlier and responded, I could have told you mom let me use her car to drive here since Matt's truck is storing your bike."

Well that makes sense. Keith did wonder how she got to the dance if Matt was busy helping Shiro and Allura. "So where are we ditching to?" Keith jumped off to the other side of the wall and stretched his arms out to catch Pidge.

"I was thinking with the cold weather, a fresh cup of coffee and waffles sounds good right about." Pidge jumped off the ledge and into Keith's arms. 

"Waffle House it is." Keith smiled when Pidge started laughing as she nodded and grabbed his arm to lead him to her car. They ran through the parking lot as more snow fell.

It wasn't a stupid dance after all, Keith thought. Dancing with Pidge then going to Waffle House with her afterwards made it one best nights of his life. Maybe he will even thank Shiro for kidnappding his bike. If it wasn't for Shiro, he might not have ever realized that he has fallen in love with his best friend.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for being late with this chapter!!! I really should stop starting my fanfic at work because when I get busy, can't keep working on it. Plus ended up going to Ikkicon on the 30th so didn't get time to post this. Hope you enjoyed it though. Might have to fix a bit of my grammar at a later time. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Don't worry, I am typing up the third one.


	3. Midnight Kiss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Their friends and family are exasperated. What else can they possibly do to bring the two star-crossed lovers together? Years have passed since Keith and Pidge when they first became friends. Maybe the holiday season will give them a reason to act on their secret feelings for each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH MY GOSH!! I know its almost been a year since I last started this fic but I have been working on it all this time. I just couldn't decide on how to get from the beginning to the end. I'm so sorry for the long wait. The story ended being longer than I intended it to be, so much for short and sweet lol. Hopefully you still consider it to be a sweet story to read. Enjoy!

"You're hair has gotten so long mi piccola! Molto bella!" 

"Thank you Nonna. I've been trying to grow it out for a year a now." Pidge's hair was near her waist now compared to a year ago when it barely grazed her shoulder. She was helping her grandmother inside the house when Nonna had made that comment. Pidge had just picked up her grandparents from the airport because they decided to celebrate the new year with their family. Pidge suspects though that the main reason they were visiting was to meet Matt's spouse. They missed the wedding due to her grandfather getting sick and traveling across the ocean for the ceremony was not recommended. Pidge's grandparents did live in Italy after all. 

"Where is mi patitino?"

Pidge smiled at Matt's nickname. No one else was allowed to call him that but by their dear grandmother. Pidge managed to help sit her grandmother down on the couch. "He is picking up our guests of honor and his dearly beloved."

"So mi piccola, is the wish-boy you told me about coming?"

Pidge blushed and attempted to shush her grandmother. "Sshh Nonna... Please don't say that out loud. You're the only one I ever told about my crush."

Her Nonna frowned, "Oh goodness mi piccola. You are in love. Best to start the new year telling the boy who promised to keep you happy forever what you feel about him."

"He never promised that Nonna." Pidge sighed. She has told her grandmother the story so many times but she always tend to forget certain details. Pidge like to think she does it on purpose to rile her up. "We wished on a star to be happy together forever Nonna. That doesn't mean he promised to keep me happy. Plus he doesn't even remember we made that wish. I was only six back then and now I'm 25. I highly doubt Keith will remember much less return my feelings."

Nonna grabbed her granddaughter's hands and held it to her chest, "Mi piccola, you must not doubt yourself. I'm going to tell you the same thing I told your mother. Love comes in many forms but love from friendship is the most wondrous thing. You must not lose hope for the new year is filled with new opportunities to make wishes come true."

Pidge just smiled and gave her grandma a kiss on the cheek. Sometimes Pidge wonders why she tells her grandma everything if it only meant getting teased by her. She recalled when she first told Nonna about her dreams regarding a a boy she became friends with under a meteor shower. She remembered telling her grandma when she realized it wasn't a dream but a memory. Pidge realized her mistake was telling her grandma she met the boy from her memories and started forming feelings for him. Ever since then, Nonna had it stuck in her head that when they wished to be happy together forever under the stars, that they were meant for each other. She's had the same discussion with her Nonna over and over again that Keith  and her were just friends (Pidge immediately regretted letting his name slip to Nonna back then). There was no possible way he would return her feelings. Plus, it seems like Pidge was the only one who remembers the first time she and Keith truly met. 

Pidge siged as she made her way to the kitchen. Having a one-sided crush on your best friend for years was taking its toll on her emotions. Lately she's been wondering if she should just buckle up and confess or let it go and move on. Every time she thought she mustered enough courage to tell Keith her feelings, something diverts her attention.

First time she tried confessing was back in high school during Senior Prom. During the slow dance, she was going to just blurt it out but he ended up blurting out that he got accepted to Altea University. It was the only school worth going to if anybody wanted to become an aerospace pilot or aerospace engineer. So in the excitement of finding that out, Pidge never got another chance that night to confess. The next time she planned to confess, she found out that Keith was going to take classes under the Marmora Institute to further advance his piloting skills so he had to go away for several months. Another time she attempted to tell Keith her feelings was when Shiro and Matt had announced that they were engaged during one of their get-together. Another time after that was right when Hunk announced he and Shay were having a baby.

Her most recent attempt in a love confession was a failure. She lost her nerve when Keith took her out to eat to announce he would be going on an extended mission in space with a small team to study flight paths and destinations for a new ship that their work was building. The new ship he spoke of was a ship that Pidge herself had a hand in designing and building. Learning that her best friend will be test piloting it in space was exciting news and her confession to him would just be ill-timed because he would be gone for a long period of time. That was 8 months ago.

"Hey Pidge, what's with the gloomy face?" Hunk inquired as Pidge sat down by the kitchen counter. "I figured you'd be super excited with Keith coming back today." 

"I am. I was just thinking about work," Pidge lied. She didn't want to bother her friend with her insignificant personal problem. 

"Oh honey, it's New Years Eve tonight. There's no thinking about work with the return of the boys. We have a celebration to prepare for." Pidge's mother was running around the kitchen with Hunk preparing all sorts of food. 

"Your mom is right Pidge but here, have a peanut butter cookie. It should cheer you right up." Hunk handed Pidge a cookie which she eagerly accepted. "When are they suppose to get here again?"

"Matt said around seven. He's at the spaceport now with Allura to pick them up. Nonna is excited to finally meet the man who mellowed out my brother."

"Your Nonna has been telling me she's excited to meet wish-boy. Do you know who that is Katie?" Collen Holt asked her daughter. "She wouldn't tell me who she meant."

 Pidge's face turned bright red, "Nonna is just being silly. She probably meant star-pilot. Matt does like to talk about all of Shiro's accomplishments to Nonna." Pidge decided to change the subject before any more risky questions were directed at her. "Where is Coran? I haven't seen him since I came back."

"He went to go pick up Lance's parents and give directions to his siblings. You know how Lance's family is. They probably fed him and told him stories that you will just distract Coran from his original task." Hunk said as he pulled out a roasted duck from the oven. "Mrs. Holt, do we enough snacks for all of Lance's nieces and nephews that are coming?"

"I do and bought triple the amount of snacks just in case." Colleen was busy tasting something from one of the pots on the stove.

Taking note how busy the two were, Pidge started backing away from the kitchen. Pidge knows she'll be more of a hindrance than help in the kitchen. "I'm just going to go check up on Shay and her baby while you two finish up in here."

"Tell baby Rax I'll be there to play with him in a little bit!" Hunk called out to Pidge as she waved and walked out of the kitchen. 

\--

At the space station:

"I'm so excited! They're finally home!" Allura was squealing as she tugged on Matt's arm. 

"Here I thought I'd be the more excited one out of the two of us since I'm the one who will be seeing his husband for the first time since our honeymoon." Matt smirked at Allura. "I didn't think you'd be this excited to see Lance again."

Allura punched Matt's arm as a dust of pink started to appear on her cheeks. "I'm excited about our friends coming home, that's all!"

Matt rolled his eyes, "You're just as bad as Katie with denying their feelings. She tried telling me she was excited that all three of them were coming home but I know all she cares about is seeing Keith again."

Allura chuckled, "Well those two have been inseparable since high-school. I'm surprised you got hitched before your sister."

"Excuse me? I'm the elder sibling! What's surprising about the big brother getting married first?" 

Allura shrugged, "You two weren't very obvious with your feelings and Shiro thought for the longest time you were into me."

"Hey, in my defense, I thought Shiro was into you for the longest time! Heck, who wasn't into you in the beginning?" Matt started laughing.

"Apparently you and Shiro!"

"Well, Lance was into you and last I checked he still is..." Matt elbowed Allura in a teasing manner.

Allura's cheeks were a bright pink now, the blush very evident even with her tan complexion. "I don't know what you're talking about. As I was saying, compared to you and Shiro, Keith and Pidge seemed more obvious about their affections for each other but every time I asked, they would always deny it.

"You never asked Allura," Matt started shaking his head in exasperation, "You would just state to them that they liked each other."

"Yes I did."

"No, you didn't."

"Yes, I most certainly did ask."

"Nu-uh princess."

"Don't call me that!"

As Matt and Allura bickered, they failed to notice three men approaching them. One of the three was closer to the bickering individuals. Taking advantage of the fact that Matt was distracted, Shiro grabbed him from the waist and spun him around. 

"Takashi put me down this instant!" Matt yelled in surprised, quickly realizing it was Shiro who grabbed him and spun him around. 

Shiro laughed and placed a kiss on Matt's cheek, keeping his arms around his waist as Matt turned around to face him. "That's the first thing you say after not seeing me for nearly a year?"

Matt rolled his eyes at the slightly taller man. "We video chat almost every day while you were in space. The least you can do is properly greet your husband, not by giving them a heart attack."

"I believe hugging you was a proper greeting."

Matt grabbed Shiro's collar and pulled him down for a hard kiss, "That is how you properly greet me."

"Gross, put those bedroom eyes away you two. We are in public!" Lance called out as he dramatically cringed at the sappy sight. He moved to greet Allura who was giggling at the scene that just occurred. "Hello princess." Lance bowed down and placed a small kiss on Allura's hand.

"Now who's the gross one." Keith commented as he walked up to the group.

"You're just jelly a certain someone couldn't be here to welcome you back right away." Lance scoffed at Keith.

Keith just crossed his arms and rose one of his eyebrows, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Shiro sighed, "We just got back you two. Don't start arguing again."

Matt whispered to Allura, "I can't call you princess but Lance can? Suspicious." Matt started snickering and he ended up getting punched again on the arm.

"Oh just can it Holt," Allura whispered back. She turned her attention to the other three, "Well let's all get going then. Everybody is waiting for us."

Matt held on to Shiro's hand, "Nonna has been impatient to see you."

"Should I be worried? Do you think she'll like me?" Shiro can hear the nervousness in his voice. He and Matt had talked about meeting his grandparents upon coming back home but now that the time is here, Shiro was feeling anxious.

Matt laughed, "You have nothing to worry about it. Keith should be the worried one."

Keith's spine immediately straightened and looked at Matt cautiously, "What do you mean by that?"

"Nonna claims she doesn't have a favorite but everyone in the family knows that Pidge is by far her favorite grandchild." Matt was smiling at Keith's sudden discomfort. "I'm sure Nonna will be curious to know about Katie's boyfriend."

"We're not... It's not like that. We just happen to be very close friends." Keith's face was bright red.

The others started laughing but Keith decided to ignore them. On the car ride home, Keith's mind wandered to Pidge. He wouldn't mind being her boyfriend. Actually he's been meaning to confess to her about his feelings for the longest time but he would always find himself chickening out. He's been crushing on his best friend since high-school and instead of the feeling fading away, it just intensified over the years. The first time he wanted to confess to Pidge was during high school graduation. It was just the two of them, congratulating each other. He started to tell her how he felt when he was interrupted by the arrival of their families. He could have finished what he started during the graduation party but his anxiety got the best of him.

When they were in college, he started to  notice more guys were starting to take interest in his Pidge. Before someone manages to wisk her away, he planned on confessing to her one night during freshman year. That same night, Pidge found out that Altea University had sent off her Voltron ship proposition to be looked at Altea Space Center. They liked it so much, they wanted her to get started right away. She was so excited about the whole thing, he didn't want to ruin it somehow by telling her how he felt about her.

Keith sighed. He wanted to confess to her before he left for Marmora Institute but he was called to arrive sooner than expected. The headmaster of the Institute was going on a training trip and wanted to take the new recruits with him. It was a hasty goodbye between the two of them. He didn't get to talk to her much while he worked on achieving Blade status, highest rank a pilot can get at Marmora Institute. It was a surprise to him when he woke up one day at the hospital, injured from one of the flight missions that went bad, with Pidge at his bedside. As beautiful as she looked yelling at him regarding his recklessness, her tears distracted him from telling her how felt. Instead he just spent that time comforting Pidge, reassuring her he was fine and reveling at the feeling of having her wrapped around his arms. Plus his Commander, Kollivan, kept walking in to check up on him so no privacy to express his affections.

While up in space, flying his ship she specifically designed (nicknamed Red by Keith), all he could think about was how much he missed Pidge. He was tempted to try confessing to her again but either Lance or Shiro kept getting in the way of their video chat. Also, for the last couple of months up in space, they both got busy and haven't been able to talk properly to each other. It will be another year gone by tonight and Keith's not sure he could make it without letting his feelings be known. Times like this causes him to think back on the happy dreams he had when he was younger. He remembered dreaming about a girl wearing a purple dress when he was young and making wishes together on a star. If he only could, he would take Pidge with him the next time he goes up in space and make wishes on the stars. 

 ---

At the Shirogane Residence:

"Matt just called. They're almost here! Gather everyone Katie-dear so we can surprise them."

Pidge looked at her mother with a silly expression, "You do realize that they know we are waiting for them right? It won't really be a surprise." Her father laughed and her mother just huffed in response.

"It feels so long since we've seen them. Granted Pidge and Matt probably gets to talk to them more often than I did since I don't have the same clearance as you guys yet." Hunk had a pout on his face with Shay patting his back for comfort.

"Technically, Matt doesn't have clearance to communicate with the team for this excursion... He just happens to be married to one of the team members so it's a spouse benefit kind of thing," Pidge commented.

"Didn't you get to talk with Shiro, Keith, and Lance a lot?" Shay asked Pidge.

Pidge shook her head, "Actually, the last couple months I've only been able to communicate with Shiro since he's usually at the control center. I've been busy managing all the data coming in from the ships. Keith and Lance has been constantly going on flight trips gathering as much data as they can while Shiro relays those information to me prior to them coming back home."

"Oh, so you haven't been able to talk to Keith then?" asked Shay

Before Pidge could respond, her father announced that the guys were pulling up in the driveway. As soon as Lance's parents told their grandchildren Uncle Lance was here, they already started cheering. It made Pidge smile as she watched them gather around the front door.

"Okay children, let's be very quiet until they open the door then we can all cheer 'welcome home.' So be very quiet." Colleen pressed a finger to her lips and children imitated her.

Everybody was quiet, waiting for the door knob to turn. Pidge decided to stand in the back to give every one else the chance to greet her friends coming home. From where she standing, she can hear the faint voices of Lance and Keith arguing behind the door.

"Shiro should go in first, it is his home."

"I would make a better entrance! Plus, he already got a welcome greeting first at the station."

"What does that have to do with anything?!"

"Everything!"

The front door opened revealing a very exasperated Matt and two annoyed boys still arguing. At that moment, everybody had yelled "Welcome home!" and rushed at the boys. Being older doesn't change the fact that Pidge was still short and would have been easily toppled over by Lance's family if she had not stepped towards the back of the room. She watched as Lance's siblings pretty much pile on top of him for a group hug. Shiro and Keith's parents rushed to them along with her parents to congratulate the two men.

Keith... He was as handsome as Pidge remembered him to be from the last time they talked. It has only been a few months since she last seen him but the amount of joy she felt upon seeing him there, just standing several feet away from her, was immeasurable. The embarrassed smile on his face due to parents' praises and Colleen's warm welcome brought butterflies to Pidge's stomach. It took every ounce of her will-power not to jump on him and never let go. Pidge felt someone tug on her dress and looked down to see it was her grandmother trying to get her attention.

"Come mi piccola, introduce me to your un vero amore." Her grandmother winked at Pidge as she slowly stood up from the couch.

Pidge hoped to the stars that her face wasn't red as she guided her Nonna towards the others. But before the two of them could reach where Keith was standing, Matt had intercepted the two of them.

"Mi patitino! It's been so long!" Pidge's grandma immediately took hold of Matt and hugged him tight.

"Nonna, let me introduce you to my husband, Shirogane Takeshi." Matt was holding Shiro's hand when he pulled him over to stand near Nonna. "He goes by Shiro."

Shiro attempted to bow out of respect towards Nonna but was interrupted when she pulled him into a hug and place a kiss on each side of his cheek. "Mi patitino has told me so many wonderful things about you!"

As Pidge's grandmother started to fawn over Shiro, she took this opportunity to finally greet Keith. When she looked over his direction, he was already looking at her. There was a big charming smile on his face that matches his shining amethyst eyes he usually reserve when he's truly happy. It was giving Pidge heart palpitations. She almost ran to him but as she was about few steps away and his name mere seconds from leaving her lips, Kollivan had stepped in front of Keith to congratulate him. 

Pidge wanted to strangle Kollivan at that moment. She couldn't see Keith's face to admire his smile longer since Kollivan towered over him even though Keith has grown much taller since his days at Marmora Institute. Well, she has no one else to blame but herself since she was the one who invited Kollivan. It was her surprise for Keith since she knew how much he admired the man and she was well aware that he was Kollivan's star pupil. She figured Keith would be happy to see his former commander welcome him home Pidge debated on waiting for the two men to finish talking or interrupt but before she could make a decision, Coran had grabbed her attention and started leading her towards Lance's family. He wanted her to explain to Lance's parents what the Voltron project is and how Lance earned his title as a Blue Pilot since Allura nor Lance was not having much luck explaining.

"Come, come number 5. You're status as one of the leading scientist and engineer as well as the designer for the Voltron Project will be beneficial in our conversation." Coran was enthusiastically pulling her towards Lance's parents.

"Coran, if you call me number 5 in front of everyone, they won't understand who you are talking about." Pidge sighed. As Coran tugged her away she can't help but briefly look back at Keith. He was still occupied by Kollivan.

"Everybody should!" Coran was baffled, "You are the fifth line in command after all at Altea Space Center. You must show your pride my dear, especially being newly promoted as the new Head of Engineer and Design."

"Not so loud Coran. I wasn't planning to tell anybody just yet because tonight needs to be focused on the boys and their return home from a successful mission. Mr. Alfor and I discussed about properly announcing it at the next meeting at work. Especially since I will not be the only one being promoted." Actually, there are several others here tonight that will also be getting a promotion at work once the new year starts. While Keith, Lance and Shiro were at space, both her and Allura have been making a lot of changes at work in preparation for the current CEO's upcoming retirement. Tonight is not the night to dwell on these things. She needed to redirect Coran back to his original intention of taking her away so she can quickly head back to Keith.

 

\---

 

Keith was pleasantly surprised to see Kollivan at Shiro's house. He didn't think Kollivan would be aware about his return date to earth but Kollivan had informed him that the "small scary one" of his was the one who invited him. Keith couldn't help but laugh at Kollivan's description of Pidge since it was an accurate description of her when she and Kollivan first met.

Kollivan was never the type of person to back down and always had a strict demeanor. When a woman almost three time smaller than your height started scolding you for not informing her that her best friend was in critical condition at the hospital, anyone would be surprised but not necessarily scared. When that same woman threatened to hack and reprogram the whole Marmora Institute and divulge every secret stored through electronic data without leaving a trace if Kollivan dare not notify her the next time Keith gets hurt, any person would be quaking in their military grade combat boots. 

As much as Keith wanted to catch with his former Commanding Officer with what's going on for the last eight months, he's more interested with catching up with his beautiful best friend.  It feels so long ago since he last seen Pidge in person. His heart was doing flip-flops when their eyes met. Her hair was much longer than the last time they video chatted and her smile was brighter than he could remember. All he wanted was to grab her and hug her tight but unfortunately, there were obstacles. By the time Kollivan managed to finish his congratulations and Keith's mom called for Kollivan to meet with the rest of the guests, Pidge was no longer where Keith last saw her. He scanned the room when his eyes landed on her petite figure standing next to Coran  and Lance's parents towards to the other side of the living room. Although it was just a short distance to get to her, with all the people welcoming them home in one room, there was not much space to navigate through.  By the time he was just a few steps away, Hunk had grabbed him for a hug.

"Keith!! I missed you man! Welcome back!" Hunk was crying in joy as he continued to hug Keith.

Keith couldn't help laugh at his friend's emotional state, "I missed you too Hunk."

Keith figures he might as well chat a bit with Hunk until Pidge was done talking with Coran and Lance's parents. Well, that was his original plan. But as the night went on, Keith noticed not once has he been able to reach Pidge and at this point, the welcome party/New Year's Eve party was in full swing. 

As Keith looked for Pidge, he was always stopped by somebody to welcome him home or ask about his trip. As much as he didn't mind talking with every single one of Lance's siblings, he just wanted to be welcomed home by one person. Maybe she was in the kitchen but he just check there about five minutes ago. He was about to go look again when he felt a tug on his shirt. He looked to see what it was and was surprised to find it was not a "what" but a "who."

"Young man, you are Keith, are you not?"

Keith could only nod, unsure to who this old lady could be. "Yes ma'am. May I help with you something?"

The lady laughed, "No but you seem to be looking for someone bel bambino."

Keith felt confused. Who is bambi and why was she calling him that? Also, how did she know he was looking for someone? Something about the glint in her eyes was familiar but he couldn't quite place it. "I happen to be looking for my friend. I'm sorry but I don't know 'Bellino.'"

 Chuckling, the lady patted at the spot next to her on the couch, "Come sit with this old lady for a moment since I have heard great many things about you. I might even be able to help you."

Keith is nearly desperate to see Pidge but he just cannot bring himself to deny the seemingly nice senior. Plus, she might know who Pidge is and be able to him if she's seen her. "I'm sorry ma'am but I do not know your name even though you know mine."

"You can call me Nonna. All I hear are wonderful things about you so you must not worry. I was told you were a top pilot at some prestigious piloting school while being a recruit for the Altea Space Center."

"Yes ma'am." Keith was taken aback, not many people knew he was recruited by Altea prior to training at Marmora Institute. 

"Oh bel bambino, just call me Nonna. You can drop all this 'ma'am' stuff. Tell me, what made you decide to become a space pilot?"

Keith vaguely remember somebody being called Nonna but her question distracted him. "I just always wanted to go to space since I was little and see the stars up close." It was much more than that but there's no need to spill his whole backstory.

"Ah, well you remind me a bit of my granddaughter. Mi piccola had her eyes always looking up at the stars. Did you do that too when you were young?"

Keith's cheeks pinked a little, slightly embarrassed at recalling his youth, "Yes, whenever I had the chance I would find a place to just stare up at them."

"She did that too whenever she visited Italy, telling me the patterns were different there than here. Whatever that means." Nonna smiled fondly as she recalled her memories. "She would always write me letters telling me about her hopes and dreams. At first I thought she just wanted to be like her father but during one of my visits she told me it was because of a wish she made with some young boy about seeing aliens and stars." Nonna laughed to herself and started rummaging through her purse. "She is just the most precious thing in the world when I watched her whole face lit up while she told me about seeing the sky filled with shooting stars with her new friend. I found it! I still have my favorite picture of her from when she was little. She was wearing the dress I made for her and her mom took a picture of it when they went on vacation."

Nonna handed a small, slighltly worn out picture of a young girl to Keith. Keith's eyes widen at the realization who was on the picture and who the old lady was this whole time. He could feel his chest warm and a smile form on his face as he looked at the smaller version of Pidge. She didn't look more than 5 or 6 years old and she had very long hair back then. She still has the same sparkling eyes and bright smile he adores so much. He stared at the purple dress for a bit before something went off in his head.

Pidge was wearing the same dress as the little girl he dreams about. Pidge was the girl he dreamed about frequently. Keith was in shock when the realization hit him with full force. This whole time he was dreaming of Pidge since he was little, and that his dream was actually no dream at all but a nearly forgotten memory. His dream girl is the same girl he is in love with.

Nonna stared at the picture fondly, "She was so sad when she couldn't figure out how to keep in touch with her new friend she saw the shooting stars with. You can imagine my joy when she told me she got to meet the boy from her childhood and become friends with him all over again."

Keith looked up at the woman in front of him, then he looked back down at the picture she was holding before looking back up at her. "You are Pidge's grandma."

Nonna smiled knowingly, "Her dad just sent her to get the fireworks ready for tonight and I saw her go up the stairs with that fancy computer thing of hers. This opportunity might give you two some privacy."

Keith tried to thank her but she started shooing him off with a laugh. He bolted right up and headed towards the stairs.  A few more people tried to stop him on his way to the stairs but he had his bathroom excuse ready. One of Lance's uncle was more persistent than the others and tried to stop him. Keith had no choice but to be blunt with him. Keith left Lance's uncle red in the face after telling him that the change in gravity from space to earth made him have diarrhea. In the back of his head, Keith had a feeling he would regret telling Lance's uncle that but the excuse should buy Keith some time before anybody goes looking for him.

 

\---

 

Once upstairs, he recalled one time Pidge telling him during one of their video calls while in space that her room was on the second floor towards the front of the house. It was easy to spot Pidge's room due to the green lion sign hanging on her door stating "Keep Out." He knocked a few times and waited but no answer came. He debated for a minute before reaching for the door knob. It was unlocked . 

"Pidge? Are you in here? Can I come in?" Keith slowly stepped in, looking around to see if Pidge was sitting behind a pile of her stuff. She always had gadgets and any sort of knick-knack fill up her room. Considering her small size, it was easy to overlook her with some of the things she's working on. "Pidge?"

"Keith? Is that you?"

Keith looked around for the source of the voice but couldn't pin point where it was coming from. All of a sudden, the curtains covering the window was pushed over and Pidge's face popped through the window. 

"Keith! It is you!" Pidge was pleasantly surprise the person she's been trying to talk to all night was suddenly in her room. She immediately opened her window and jumped towards Keith for a hug. His arms was already out and ready to catch her. "Welcome home Keith! I've been wanting to do this since I saw you walk through the front door. I missed you."

Keith laughed and just hugged her tighter, "I missed you too."

"I'm in the middle of something right now so come with me outside while I finish up and you can catch me up with the last few months of your trip since we didn't get to talk much."

"What were you doing?" Keith followed Pidge through her window to sit beside her on the roof. His eyes curiously watch her pick up her laptop and start typing a few things on it.

"Matt, Hunk, and I rigged the fireworks to go off automatically at midnight but I made some adjustments so it will be a real show when it goes off. Dad had to get special permission because I may or may not have used some Altea grade chemicals to blow up some fireworks..." 

Keith laughed, "I doubt you got permission from Altea to actually used those chemicals for fireworks."

Pidge smirked, "I may have fibbed a little but it helps when you are friends with Allura who just happens to be the daughter of Altea's head honcho. Just one final touch and I'm done!"

"I didn't see any fireworks set up in the front or back yard.  Where is everyone going to watch it?"

Pidge placed her laptop down before turning her full attention to Keith. "We set it up on an empty lot two streets down. Only reason we got permission to use that many and that big of fireworks, my dad presented it as a New Year's Eve firework show for the whole neighborhood. If he hadn't done that, there was no way Matt, Hunk, and I would be able to pull it off without getting into trouble. Well, I bet I could have pulled it off without getting into trouble but Matt and Dad vetoed that idea."

"I have no doubt you could pulled it off. I didn't know you had your own personal balcony. This is nice."

"It's the same set up as the room I had at my parent's house. I'd climb all the way to the top most part of the roof and just stare at the stars. If I wasn't wearing this brand new dress made by Nonna, I'd climb up higher for a better view of the fireworks. I don't want to accidentally get it torn."

Keith looked up at the roof then at Pidge's dress. "Get on my back."

Pidge's eyes widened, "What?"

Keith just smiled, "I can carry you up there. Just get on my back. It will be just like old times when we used to go hunting for cryptids."

Pidge grinned at him, "That was only one time when I sprained my ankle and I couldn't climb up the ravine Kogane! Plus, I'm older and bigger now compared to back then in high school."

"The same thing goes for me Holt. Not only am I older and bigger, I've been training a lot more since we last saw each other." Keith smirked before he turned around to wait for her to climb on his back. "It's not that big of climb."

Keith's face was so close to Pidge's when he said that last statement, she could feel her face flush red. She hoped to the stars above that there wasn't enough light outside for him to notice. Pidge climbed onto Keith's back and she could immediately feel what Keith meant about training more. Just leaning against him on his back made her feel how more muscular Keith has gotten. She's definitely glad Keith was not facing her because she knows for a fact her face is bright red by the heat her cheeks emitted. It only took but a minute or two for the two to reach the top of the house. 

"Thank you. You know I could have climbed this if it wasn't for the fact I didn't want to risk ruining my dress, especially since my Nonna is here tonight." Pidge pouted at Keith.

Keith just laughed, "I know. I've seen you climb ships five times your height at work. Plus, I would not want you to ruin your dress. You look beautiful in it. But speaking of your Nonna, I met her."

Pidge blushed at Keith's compliment. "Did somebody in my family already introduce her? I wanted to introduce you to her myself." 

"Actually, she introduced herself to me. I didn't realize it was your grandma till a bit later in the conversation."

Pidge looked at him curiously, "What did you guys talk about?"

"She just asked me about some space things." Keith rubbed the back of his neck out of nervousness. "She also talked about you."

Pidge's spine straightened, she wondered if Nonna revealed anything to Keith about her feelings. "What did she say about me?"

This was it, Keith thought. This is the moment he has been waiting for forever. "She mentioned you used to look at the stars a lot after I mentioned that I did the same thing when I was younger."

Pidge internally sighed in relief. Maybe her Nonna didn't say anything revealing about her feelings.

"She also talked about when you were young, you saw a bunch of shooting stars and made a new friend that same night." 

Pidge's eyes widened and any relief she felt moments ago was replaced with a sense of dread. She doesn't know what Nonna said to Keith but whatever she said, Pidge hopes it won't ruin anything she and Keith have now. Pidge wanted to interject but Keith kept on talking.

"She even showed me a picture of you from when you were younger. It was an old picture that she seem to keep in her purse. You know what I found the most interesting, the dress you were wearing. I've seen that dress many times over but it took me a second before I realized where I have seen that dress." Keith smiled as he recalled his dreams. "Many times when I sleep, I dream about a younger version of myself, sitting next to a young girl. I could never remember her face but she had long hair and wore this adorable purple dress. The same purple dress you were wearing in the picture your Nona showed to me.  I wasn't sure where we were in the dream except that we were looking up at sky and shooting stars passed by. The girl in the dream said something to me that I never forgotten. She wished that we will be best friends forever."

Pidge couldn't find her voice while  Keith was telling his dream to her. She was frozen in place, not sure where Keith was headed with his story. She literally jumped when Keith moved to hold her hands in his. Pidge could feel her heart pumping out of her chest. She wished she could pinch herself so that she could make sure the warmth from Keith's hand and the intense look he's giving her was real.

"That's not all. In the dream, after she made a wish, I made a wish too. What wish do you think I made?"

"Keith... I... I don't know." Pidge was trying to catch up her mind with her the words coming out of her mouth while making sure her heart wasn't about to jump out of her chest.

"I think you do Pidge. Deep inside, I know you know what I said to this girl in my dreams. Only because it wasn't really a dream but a memory. A memory that you happen to remember very well enough to tell your grandma about it." Keith squeezed her hands gently. He was one hundred percent sure that his dreams of stars and a girl dressed in purple was no dream but a memory tucked away in his mind. But it was not just any girl, it was a younger version of Pidge. He was so sure of his deductions but a sliver of doubt started to form in his mind the longer Pidge took to answer him.

 After what seemed forever, Pidge slightly squeezed Keith's hands back. "You said you also wish that we will be happy together forever."

There was a weight that lifted from Keith that he didn't realized he had and all he could feel was pure joy. All this time, the woman he is in love with has always been, in some way, a part of his life. Keith moved closer towards Pidge, "Whenever we are together, I am at my happiest."

 Pidge's heart soared, "I feel the same way."

Hearing Pidge's statement brought a smile to Keith's face. This is now or never. Keith has resolved himself to tell his best friend his true feelings. He tucked a lock of hair behind Pidge's ear, "I love you Katie Holt. I want to keep being happy with you forever."

Happy tears started to form on Pidge's eyes, "I love you too. I was so worried about telling you how I felt because I didn't want to ruin our friendship. In the end, I was just scared that you might not feel the same way."

Keith laughed and Pidge smacked him on the arm. "It's not funny Kogane. I didn't want to say or do anything that would push you away."

"I'm laughing because there was nothing to worry about. I have been in love with you since high school. It wasn't just you, I was scared too. I mean, why would a super genius, cute girl be interested in a short-tempered, loner like me?" Keith took Pidge's hand back in his and kissed it, hoping to rid of the pout on her face. "I don't really have a lot of redeeming qualities unlike you Pidge. You work hard and persevere whenever you're faced with a challenge. You stand up for the people you care about, which is what I admire most about you." 

Pidge could feel herself flush in embarrassment but when she noted the glint of amusement in Keith's eyes all she can do was smile. "You may have a short fuse but only because you are passionate about things you believe in. You are fiercely loyal, honest, and actually a big softy. Plus this super genius has a thing for guys who makes wishes on a star with her. How can I not be in love with you?" Pidge grabbed Keith's collar and pulled his face closer to hers. "It seems like we have a lot of making up to do because I've been in love with you since high school too."

Keith laughed, "And how do you propose we make up for..." 

\---

Fireworks exploded in the sky, filling the night with wondrous amounts of color and sparkle. All the guests in the Shirogane household were outside in the front yard, marveling at the firework show. 

Lance looked at all the people around him and noted there are some people missing. He nudged Allura, who was standing besides him, "Have you seen Pidge or mullet-head?"

Allura was too much in awe at the fireworks that she didn't hear Lance's question. Instead Matt answered, "I haven't seen either one of them since Coran brought out the alcohol. I did overhear your Uncle say that Keith went looking for a bathroom cause he had the runs. Whatever that means."

Lance choked out a laugh, "That means diarrhea. That sucks being stuck in the porcelain throne, especially at the beginning of the year."

"I don't think that's where Keith actually is," Shiro interjected with a smirk. Both Matt and Lance looked up at Shiro as he nodded his head towards the house. "Take a look up at the roof."

Allura noticed her friends were no longer paying attention to the fireworks, "What are we looking at? Is there someone on the roof?" Lance turned her body to face towards the house and pointed towards the roof. Once she looked up, Allura jumped for joy."Oh! Someone is getting their New Year's Eve kiss."

Lance laughed, "It looks like those two are getting more than just a midnight kiss. About time!"

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations:  
> mi piccola = my little one  
> Molto bella = very beautiful (female)  
> mi patitino = my little potato  
> bel bambino = handsome boy
> 
> I always imagined Pidge's family were Italian. Hopefully I didn't mess up the few inserts of Italian phrases but if I did, please feel free to let me know how I can improve on it.


End file.
